\n<\/p>\n
After a smiling Lopes made his walkout, Volkanovski, who was carrying the Australian flag above his head, was serenaded towards the octagon in a party-like atmosphere by exuberant fans at the Qudos Bank Arena in Western Sydney.<\/p>\n
Volkanovski oozed calmness and took control from the opening bell with his footwork and distance management.<\/p>\n
Although the pair traded leg kicks in early rounds, it was Volkanovski who landed the more telling shots as he stung Lopes intermittently with his right hand.<\/p>\n
Lopes briefly knocked down Volkanovski with a right hook in the third round, but he bounced straight back up to regain control of the encounter.<\/p>\n
It was a brief moment of success for Lopes, who struggled to land meaningful shots on the evasive Volkanovski for the majority of the encounter.<\/p>\n
Fearing Lopes was nearing defeat, his team told him “you’ve got to go all out” before the final round, and although he threatened with submissions, Volkanovski defended stoutly.<\/p>\n
The fight ended with Volkanovski geeing up cheering fans in the closing stages as he stamped his authority on the encounter by finishing in top position on the ground.<\/p>\n
Victory marked Volkanovski’s 13th win in the UFC and sixth title defence across two reigns.<\/p>\n
Although he twice failed to beat former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in 2023 to become a two-division champion, Volkanovski’s magnificent featherweight record means his place among the sport’s greats is already cemented.<\/p>\n
After the fight, he pointed to Britain’s fourth-ranked featherweight Lerone Murphy or Russia’s Movsar Evloev, who is ranked first, as potential next opponents.<\/p>\n
There is speculation the pair will fight at UFC London on 21 March, but there has been no confirmation from the promotion.<\/p>\n
“Obviously whoever is next deserves it. I think [the UFC] might be doing maybe Movsar and Lerone, but while they’re doing that we’ll talk to the team and see what’s next,” said Volkanovski.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n